Ok, we lost the last game, and since this tournament was decided on points, came in who-knows, as the rest of the teams were playing later, and we came on home. The beans are "Kings Banquet", originally given to me by some folks whose grandparents homesteaded here, and we've looked and researched around earlier - Seed Savers Exchange has this as the only place they've been seen. Maybe it's some other variety, but with a different name, or it well could have been brought in by the Italian migrants to the area, or some other source. I just have no idea. I sent some to Steve a few years ago, and he's still alive. I've sent some to some market farmers out in California, and they say it's a customer favorite. I sure like them. Great fresh, for me, anyway, they have some flavor. They also do a long time on the vine when they're tender, can well, and the dry seeds are good as well. I usually plant them in the same row I do the peas - peas come out, these go in. I'd suggest picking them at different sizes to see what / where you like them the best. As with any pole bean, as long as you pick them, they keep producing. Re multi-colored sorghum, this is fun. The plants look like corn. I dunno how old that seed is, maybe 4 years? Anywho, best results ever were planting 3 seeds per cell about now, germinating them, pinching off all but one, then setting them out after frost about 1 ft spacing, for as much room as you want to devote, but at least a 6 ft by 6 ft plot. I used a 15 - 15 - 15 fertilizer, spread it about 1 pellet per dime, watered well through June and it was established. once in July, once in Aug. Things were over my head. You could also plant them directly about now - just thin them to 1 / sq foot. Re that Salvia grandiflora, again it takes until the 3rd year to get up to knock 'em dead status. So year one and two are establishing the plant. Pinch the shoot tips when they're 6" high. Then again when they're a foot high. That for the first 2 years. The third year, pinch the tips every 6" of growth until either you get fed up with it, or it's August, then watch the show. All good fun ;->. We're up to Grand Junction for another tournament this coming weekend, then we start swimming season.

Depends on who you hire to have the work done. If the sumac is growing in an open area without other valuable plants around, then just any manual labor - college students, day laborers, etc. - can do the work and the cost would be minimal (beer and pizza for the students; a few bucks an hour for the day laborers). If the removal requires more finesse, then a landscaper or other contractor that does site clearing maybe an alternative but the cost would go up. Costs for this type of activity will always vary regionally. I'd post on your regional forum for sources/suggestions for labor and what's a reasonable hourly rate for your area. Or decide how much you are willing to pay and post the job on Craigslist.

perhaps we ought to start with location.. add pix ... confirm ID ... then you state your pruning goals .. and then we can opine ... pruning requires goals.. perhaps other than.. i want to beat it back with a stick .. lol ... which you can do.. without an ID ... if you look inside the plant.. you can probably see how it was pruned previously ... not that that was necessarily a good job ... ken

Sumac plants are grown in containers commercially. However when a specimen starts suckering these growths will appear at and exit the container where drainage openings are present. Particularly if any of these are located on the sides of the container, as is often the case - at least with nursery pots. Tiger Eyes ('Bailtiger') being a yellow foliage form is a little less vigorous than the typical species. But I wouldn't call it a "dwarf" version, in the usual sense of quite markedly smaller and more compact. There was thread on Garden Web of some length where a variety of experiences with 'Bailtiger' were reported. Presumably a search brings it up.